I was a biggish PG in my day. About 6', and in HS I played at 190ish. In college it jumped to about 210.

I played actively, like 2-5 times a week depending on the time of year, right up to 31. I definitely got slower, but I always a good post game, and mid post footwork, which can make up for a lot of that, but my ability to get off the ground just plummetted. I was able to occasionally dunk from my junior year in high school, through college, but after that couldn't quite get it anymore. I was more occasionally able to hang from the rim. By 26 or so I'd become a much better shooter than I had been in my youth. I'd been playing almost constantly for 20 years at that point, and the extra strength I'd developed gave me way more range. Combined with my ability to run a break, I was still among the better players on most courts I played on until about 30. And people loved playing with me because I'm a really good passer.
Then at 32 I ripped up my knee. Got it fixed, continued playing, started developing arthritis in the other knee, and now am on the verge of tearing my achilles. I've gotten as big 245 over the years, but generally hover aroung 225, 230, so I know I carry more weight than I should, but I was never exactly small framed.

Now I don't play much. When I do it's more horsing around, and I don't really like it. But you can still see the skill set flash at times. I'll use some rediculous step to get by someone I have no business getting by. And I'll definitely jam someone's finger with a pass when they weren't even aware they were open at least once and usually more than that. And once the rust wears off I can get on a streak with jumpers. And since I have a penchant for shooting bank threes, they have a certain pinache to them.

But finishing around the rim has been turned into a crap shoot of gimmicky releases and english off the backboard, which again, can show a certain skill level of days past, but they just don't go in near enough for my taste. And I used to be a plus defender, but those days are long gone.

It's actually quite depressing for me to go to a basketball court.

I will say this, size tends to play longer, so if you're 6-5+, you can really hang on for a long time if you can just keep getting yourself up and down the court.

It has nothing to do with age, its all about your body. Im gonna play until I physically cant.

Well, it has something to do with age, but essentially I agree.

With age typically comes more responsibility at home and on the job. Those things cut into time previously spent playing ball or exercising. The body is slower to recover and quicker to atrophy. It's a vicious cycle.

For most serious players, it's when your feet go. As Barkley has said "Most players have bad knees. ALL players have bad feet."

Agree with some of the "older" (all probably 20 years younger than me) posters who say that it reaches a point where the game isn't fun anymore. It's tough to go from competing athletically with all comers to being happy jogging for jumpers.

lol. I don't play ball like that anymore... or rarely. I'm gonna be 30. I am not a big dude anyway and I basically ****ed my ankle beyond repair at age 17. It's still bad because I didn't get surgery, and it's weak... so if I land wrong I'll sprain it again or plant it and fall. Kind of embarrassing. I lost my athleticism then, but I'm stronger. Mental toughness and all of that. As long as you compete, you can play. I can get in anyone's head on D. Someone might blow by me once but they won't do it twice.

I don't play ball to score anymore. I don't think I ever did. But I used to have fun surprising people with shot blocks and D. I can still get those even though my vert is probably more than a foot less.

It's all about what you wanna do. Don't go in there with an ego just ball. Have fun and find a role. You can always push people around. haha. No matter what.

Reminds me of this guy I was shooting with awhile ago... he came up while I was shooting alone and I passed him the ball. And he got read to shoot... but before he did he was like, I play professional baseball... and then he bricked the shit out of it. haha. Don't be that guy. I mean, in the end he was wetting, but you know what I mean... it's not that important. Play the right way, play hard, you'll be fine.

I am 34. And the realisation of the drop off was during a fast break with a ball thrown ahead of me, I was slightly ahead of the defender and he sped past me to get the ball back for his team. This was a guy I out raced a few years back consistently, that really depressed me.

I have a right crossover hesitation move that use to be unstoppable, now it's useless.....

Man, at 28 you're still in your peak!!! Enjoy it!

Age 40 and still playing well!! Thats what I wanted to hear!

Going to hit the gym harder to try and keep what little athleticism I have left.

Maybe it's about crossing a threshold. I mean, maybe we all must struggle with the fact that our spry athleticism will eventually wane. And maybe we just won't be able to accept that for a long time.

But I bet at some point, older ball players who wish to continue playing learn to accept their new limits in some areas and just begin expanding their games in other spots. And perhaps that's where all the 40+ Larry Bird-level-crafty players come from.

For instance, there's been a 5'9'' fellow who's surely in his 50's who I've seen around our park and gym here for at least the last seven years or so. He's not fast, he's can't jump, but he works his tail off, very consistently executes the correct cuts, and more or less plays a very fundamental level of basketball. That still doesn't save him from being swatted if he attempts a layup with a guy like me trailing, but it keeps him afloat in most aspects of the game. In fact, it not only keeps him afloat, it actually gives him a lot of advantages. He scores, he rebounds, he does a little of everything just because he's tinkered his game to maximize his abilities.

Whereas right now I might opt to forego a correct cut on a particular trip down the floor, choosing instead to hover for the ball then blast past my defender and finish above the rim, I'm guessing someday - when I can't rise or blaze anymore - I'll just have to re-establish my game to the point where I'm always making those correct cuts, living off intelligence and strategy instead trying to out-athleticize everyone.

Reminds me of this guy I was shooting with awhile ago... he came up while I was shooting alone and I passed him the ball. And he got read to shoot... but before he did he was like, I play professional baseball... and then he bricked the shit out of it. haha. Don't be that guy. I mean, in the end he was wetting, but you know what I mean... it's not that important. Play the right way, play hard, you'll be fine.

Ha, true. My best friend played in the Washington Nationals' system for a few years and he'd come with me to the courts and play ball every now and again. Worst shooter ever, but he knew that and he was cool with it. He tended to make up for it by rebounding very well and doing all those other little things. Also one time he caught my pass off the backboard and randomly dunked over a guy something fierce - the only time I saw him dunk in a game. Other than that though... it wasn't pretty.

itll be depressing if i cant cover the fastest kids in the park anymore. im gettin up there in age, my physical prime i was a speedster and depended 100% on my speed and quickness. now im a lot older, but i feel like i got stronger and my speed hasnt deteriorated as much. im a lot smarter too, i can lock up most dudes that aint 50 lbs heavier than me or 6 inchers taller yeah my offense has become less effective, but i can take over when needed. keep playing dude, the older you get you'll realize it might be the only thing keeping you in shape

I never played on a competitive level, but I played several times a week. Quit the year before I turned 30, and it was the right time for me. The anticipation and quickness that bailed me out of bad decisions had left me. It had come to a point where I would think twice before leaving my feet, ending with a turnover or giving up an uncontested layup. I've heard horror stories about knee injuries robbing friends of the things I take for granted, like walking up/down a flight of stairs. The minor injuries were more frequent, and would linger around much longer.

After work, five or six times a year, I'll find my way to an open court to shoot by myself. That 's enough to satisfy me. I can find some real joy in counting makes and chasing down my misses.

You can play as a grandpa, I've seen it. You just have to change your game. Become a great shooter, work on tricky moves and you'll always have a spot in a pickup game at the park.

I used to dunk back in the day and when I lost the hops I wanted to give up. I just changed up my game. I used to penetrate with speed and now I'm more crafty and use more crossovers, jab steps, sweeps, etc... I can't dunk anymore and that sucks but I can still score. I used to work from the 3 point line and get to the rim, now I set up at the elbows and either hit the midrange shot, sweep to the rim or back up and post up.

Oh yeah on the defensive side, I force left (their off hand whichever it is) and when the get a step on me, I hand check and if that doesn't work and just act like Artest and rip the ball as they're trying to layup. usually I rip the ball cleanly but I really don't care if I get hand and foul them, they usually don't want to do it again. I foul a lot more then back in the day, nothing dirty though. I just prevent the shot, they get the ball back and try something else. In my mind, it's almost like a defensive stop. I know it's not of course.

I just played in a nice full court coaches vs. refs game for the season end of the league I was coaching in. First time since probably college I played in a real game with real refs and a scoreboard and clock and the whole deal. We had 11 guys, and we played 10 minute quarters, so we were running line shifts every five minutes, which was fine with all of us. It's a big full size court we were playing on, and we easily would've run out of gas.

The refs are local college age kids, some still in HS even. It's a nice job the community rec department puts together. Pay is ok, and you work a couple days a week reffing little kids. The refs had won several years running, but when I walked in an hour early and started stretching and saw our guys coming in, I had to say I thought we had a shot. My buddy who I coach with is 6-6 and around 260 these days. And we had another guy in his mid thirties a little taller than him.

It's been a while for me, so when we started putting together teams, I deferred and sat until the second shift. Some other guy declared he was a PG, so I figured I'd wait till the second line so I knew we'd both have someone to bring the ball up.

We got up a bit in the first shift, but when I got out there I got hot quick. I banked a three, which I heard a bunch of shit about, then broke down my guy next trip and threw a no look to my big for a layup which drew an laughs and oohs from the crowd of other young kids who came to razz their buddies, and kids from the teams with their parents.
When I banked a second three the ref kids really started talking. They put their best guy on me, and I got a reversal around the top of the key about 6 feet behind the three point line stood with it, and when he didn't come I heard my buddy on the bench telling the other unit "that's going up" as I launched and hit, at which point I asked their stopper to let me know when he thought it wasn't "lucky shit" anymore and I'll stop.

The next few shifts there were more no looks. My big was good. And one Rondo style fake around the back which I lofted high off the wrong foot and banked in. They started playing off me in the lane realizing that I just can't get off the ground anymore and they're better off playing me to pass than to shoot. But I got a few off craftily. I backed rimmed a running halfcourter at the end of the third. I just generally felt great.

After each session I went to get water, where I was roundly given a talking to by the HS kids for blowing up their boys, and my buddy's kids were wildly impressed and couldn't believe all the oohs I got. They've seen me spin a ball on my finger, and shoot a bit, even dick around in a pickup game, but never seen me really play.

I'm was a week from my 36th Birthday, and had just spent three days on a bender at the Big East, and was heading down to the title game just a few hours after the game. And in spite of the fact that my knees swelled up like hell on Sunday, it was one of the highlights of my favorite week of the year.